Jogja, the Heart of Java
Street Lamp
In terms of culture, art, and history, Jogja, without question, is the soul of Java. For many years in the past, this town played important role to represent the spirit of the nation to the world. It is where all Javanese sub cultures and that of other tribes meet and mix.
Those are easiest approach to see how it becomes one of the primary tourism destinations in Indonesia. Apart from its many cultural and traditional attractions, the very friendly people are and easy going. The city has the largest number of accommodation facilities of all cities in Indonesia.
There are tens of temples tourist can visit in the surroundings of Yogyakarta. Although geographically situated on Central Java, the world’s heritages of Borobudur and Prambanan temples are much easier to reach from Yogyakarta than from major cities of Central Java, Semarang and Solo. There is a relatively new cultural sites situated near to Prambanan temple visitors of Yogyakarta can enjoy, which is the temple of Ratu Boko. In fact, there are still plenty of smaller Hindus and Budist temples lie on the outskirt of Yogyakarta, especially in Sleman.
Other cultural sites for tourism attraction are heritage of ancient Islamic Mataram Kingdom. The first heritage is, off course, the complex of Sultan’s Palace. This complex is the primary cultural destination of tourism in Yogyakarta. There is a Sultan’s carriage museum that keeps horse-drawn carriages, including two beautiful carriages from the Netherlands. In this complex lies Tamansari Water Palace, which was the the pleasure garden built by the first Sultan on 1765. There is an old marketplace name Ngasem which is now transformed into a pet market. Still around this complex, visitor can watch ruins old Javanese fortress called Pulau Cemeti.
Outside this complex, visitors can see Islamic Mataram heritage of Kotagede. Lies 5 kilometers southeast of Sultan’s Palace, Kotagede is the place of the first Islamic Mataram Kingdom. All the remaining is still visible in the area. Old aristocrat mausoleums, Javanese style mosque, a marketplace, old houses and walls, narrow streets and alleys are already existed since hundred of years ago. The ancient tradition of silversmith is still flourished up to these days and becomes Kotagede main product. A newer mausoleum complex of Mataram kingdom lies around 20 km south of Kotagede on Imogiri.
There are several traditional ceremonies and performances held regularly. Once in a year, the city celebrates Maulid Nabi, an Islamic holiday, by holding the ceremony of Grebeg Sekaten and continued by Pasar Sekaten for a month. The people living around Code river promoted by the local government and private tourism business celebrate Merti Code, an annual Javanese’s thanksgiving ceremony. The tourism promoter of Prambanan temple holds Ramayana Dance Performance monthly on an open air stage next to the temple. Local government also promotes many other traditional ceremonies around Yogyakarta.
Although stars hotels dominates pages of tourism advertising on internet and brochures, there still plenty of smaller scale hotels, motels, and lodges available for low budget travelers. The heart of Yogyakarta has 2 international kampongs for tourist to stay in homestays. The first kampong called Prawirotaman. This area is situated to the south of Sultan’s Place. Many locals welcome foreign and local tourists to stay on their houses with a very affordable price. The other place for backpackers to stay is the Kampong of Sosrowijayan. This place is located very close to Malioboro, the most famous street in Yogyakarta.
As the major tourism destination in Java, Yogyakarta is reachable from any places throughout Indonesia. From different island, visitors can catch a plane and land in Adisucipto Airport. From other cities within Java, visitors can take a bus or catch a train. From Jakarta, Surabaya, Semarang, and Solo by bus, visitors will reach Jombor or Giwangan bus station. By train, visitors from other cities will reach Tugu or Lempuyangan trainstation.
